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Rare turtles hatch in Okinawa Zoo

Date Posted: 1998-08-07

20 eggs laid by a rare Emi's Six Leg Turtle in Okinawa Children's Land Zoo hatched successfully in the zoo's laboratory on Aug. 2. This marks the first time the six leg turtle eggs have hatched successfully in natural conditions.

According to zoo officials, Tsutomu Otani, the chief of the zoo laboratory, placed 20 eggs that a turtle inn the zoo had laid on May 6, in a plastic box and then filled the box with soil. The eggs then hatched naturally. Zoos have previously successfully used incubators to hatch similar eggs, but this is the first time the eggs hatched under natural conditions.